Just Us Girls #664

A new prompt is up at the Just Us Girls Challenge blog where today marks my final day as Guest Designer for January.  Any guesses?

The design team is looking for Clean and Simple Birthday cards.  

Cards with lots of white space are one of my favorites so this was a fun one.  I tend to forget about my stash of PaperTrey Ink stamps so I did a deep dive and found a set of sentiments which function as a unique alternative to a belated birthday greeting.  I knew I wanted a circular focal design so then it was just a matter of finding the right sumthin' sumthin' to complete the design.  Black cat it is!  I hadn't planned to create the off center white on black mat but it just seemed to work better in the end, especially with the off center design of the circle as a whole.  Sometimes you just gotta roll with it.  :-) 

Supplies:

PaperTrey Ink - It's the Thought stamp set

PoppyStamps - Cat Companion die

I hope you'll join in on the fun.  I'd love to see your takes on the Clean & Simple Birthday in the JUGS gallery.  Thanks so much to the entire JUGS team for inviting me to play along with them this month!

As always, thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with me!

Jules

Seize the Birthday #254

 

Colleen is our current host over at the Seize the Birthday challenge blog and she's chosen a Topping that's highly appropriate for our challenge theme in general.  Any guesses?  (Hint:  I didn't use any on my card.  ROFL!)

But I did mention them.  *wink*

I think I've only used this stamp once before and sent the card to a dear friend who really got a kick out of this image.  I was so happy to have the perfect opportunity to pull it out once again.  

This was very simple to create.  I stamped, colored (Copics) and fussy cut the image.  After testing out many types of backgrounds in the end I went with a beautiful watercolored panel of design paper (no label so if anyone knows it's maker, please let me know in the comments) on which I did the sentiment and star stamping.  I popped it up on some craft foam and adhered it to a heavy weight white card base.  

Supplies:

Art Impressions - Fire Out stamp set

designer paper - unknown

I invite you to visit our blog for more inspiration.  We'd love to see your card in our gallery.  Remember, our toppings are always optional but do remember to make it a birthday card.  

As always, thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with me!

Jules

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #226

 

Whadayaknow?  It's Sisterhood Saturday once again.  Wanna know a secret?  I gained a day this week because all day long on Wednesday I thought it was Thursday.  I'm not sure whether to laugh that this is a good thing or be worried that I'm totally losing it.  I'll reserve judgement for now.  

I doubt you'll guess what our prompt is for this fortnight but you never know....

Which is EXACTLY why Jules no longer drinks tequila.  Absolutely true fact but I'm not divulging any details.  Hahahahahaha!

So what's our prompt?

That nasty little thing known as glitter.

I can honestly say that I did try the real deal.  It doesn't get any realer than Martha Stewart Fine Glitter but I didn't like it in the end and have been sweeping it up for days.  Hence I "cheated" and applied a clear glitter glue over Distress Oxide ink on what was my fourth margarita die cut.  I despise glitter but you do you.  

Onto my card....the background is a preprinted panel that I cut down to size.  I used two concentric oval dies to create the black on white label.  The margarita glass is cut from matte gold cardstock and as previously mentioned, the tequila beverage was blended with Distress Oxide and then layered with clear glitter glue. The stamp is actually a three lined sentiment but with some creative masking I stamped the first two lines onto black cardstock (heat embossed in white) and the third line on the inside panel. Both the front panel and sentiment strip are popped up with fun foam for a bit of added dimension.

I'm planning to use this as a birthday card and whichever local friend unlucky enough to receive this will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.  *blush*  (They've all been sworn to secrecy.)

Supplies:

MFT Stamps - Longstem Barware Die-namics

PaperTrey Ink - really old 4x6 paper pad

Tequila Sentiment Stamp - Riley and Co.

Ranger glitter glue

So who amongst you are brave enough to use the real thing?  There is no shame in glitter glues, pastes, etc.  Whatever you choose I hope you link it up in our gallery for us all to see.  Snark is appreciated but not mandatory.  Come play along!

As always, thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with me!

Jules

Just Us Girls #663

 

Happy Saturday everyone!  I'm back with the first of two posts today.  My card shown below was created for my Guest DT gig over at the Just Us Girls challenge blog.  It's a mood/photo board challenge which opens up lots of possibilities.  

Um...coffee?  Yes, please! 

This was a rather labor intensive card so while I had out all of the supplies I created a two-fer.

This second version was sent to one of my coffee buddies who has recently moved away.  She loved it as I knew she would.  

I'm not going to go into a step by step tutorial as I think it's easy to see that I did a lot of die cutting and glueing.  I liken it to paper dolls which many of you know I always loved.  Some of the elements (all from MFT) were die cut from colored cardstock however most were cut from white and blended with inks.  I love the dimension it gives simple elements.

I hope you'll join in on the fun.  I'd love to see your takes on the mood board in the JUGS gallery.

Supplies:

All from MFT Stamps

As always, thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with me!

Jules

Color Hues #56

It seems that this is the time of year for pinks and reds so it is fitting that Sheri chose this color duo for our newest Color Hues challenge.  I wanted to create something other than a Valentine themed card.  This is what transpired with some "new to me" products I had sitting out on my desk.

While this is still a fairly simple card there are a few creative touches that aren't showing up well in my photo.  You can easily see the ombre' ink blended background however the subtle glimmer of Perfect Pearls isn't really showing through.  The leaves were die cut from a cover die but you need to look closely to see that I dry embossed the panel prior to adhering it to the background.  The sentiment background is the same red I used in the panel.  The sentiment itself was heat embossed in white with stacked layers in red below it.  I added some shimmery pearls to finish off the card.

Supplies:

Hero Arts - Leaves and Vines Fancy die

Honeybee Stamps - Thanks a Bunch stamp & die set

Simon Says Stamp - Crystal Dimension 3D embossing folder

Ranger Perfect Pearls in the color perfect pearls

Distress Oxide inks

Trinity Stamps - Something New pearl embellishments

Since I used some new to me products I'm also adding this to the current Inkspirational challenge. 

I invite you to join us over at the Color Hues blog where you'll see lots of pink and red inspiration from our DT as well as our special guests.  I do hope to see your card in our gallery!

As always, thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with me!

Jules

Just Us Girls #662

Today I'm sharing my second Guest DT card for the Just Us Girls challenge blog.  The theme for this week is Heart.   

Look at me getting all fancy-like making a shaker window.  *wink*

The first step to creating this card was to die cut a circle opening into the center of a white cardstock panel.  I then stamped the sentiment below the opening before proceeding with the shaker elements.  

I die cut an open ring from red cardstock which I placed around the opening as a border.  Hidden behind the pink die cut is an MFT circle shaker bubble.  For me, this is the easiest way to make a shaker card.  I placed some shaker bits into the plastic bubble before adhering the panel onto the card base and then glued the pink die cut over top.  I'm not sure my instructions are all that clear so if you have any questions, please ask.  

Supplies:

Honeybee Stamps - Gal Pal stamp set

MFT Stamps - Oceanview Porthole die

MFT Stamps - Pinpoint Heart Circle die

MFT Stamps - Circle Shaker Bubble insert

I'm delighted to be part of this wonderful blog this month. There are some wonderful examples from the DT and I invite you to come take a peek and share your Heart Themed card in the gallery.

As always, thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with me!

Jules

Seize the Birthday #253

Surprised to see me here?  I must admit, I am too.   But after some consideration and a bit of begging on Nancy's part *wink* I reconsidered my decision to leave the Seize the Birthday team.  I did resign a couple of my other DT positions but I love this one and the team too much to leave.  

To start out our 2023 season we have a new prompt.  If you guessed Birds you're close.  But think broader.

I set about creating what I hoped would be a masculine birthday card with what is a wintery/holiday die set.  You can let me know if I succeeded.  I die cut the elements in white and used my ink blenders to create the colors.  The background texture is compliments of an embossing folder.  The sentiment was heat embossed in white onto brown cardstock.  I am resisting the urge to add some pretty embellishments and it's not easy.  LOL!

Supplies:

MFT - Holly Jolly Cardinals die set

Fun Stampers Journey - Fiddle Leaf embossing folder

Neat & Tangled - So Many Sentiments stamp set

I invite you to visit our blog for more inspiration.  We'd love to see your card in our gallery.  Remember, our toppings are always optional but do remember to make it a birthday card.  

As always, thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with me!

Jules

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #225

Reindeer after the holidays?  Why yes, the Sisterhood is snarky that way.  Welcome to our first challenge of 2023! 

This graphic makes me very happy to live in Florida. LOL! 

I used a very fun die set to create the focal images.  The HO and holly were cut from colored cardstocks while the reindeer was cut from white and then shaded with inks.  I did a clear heat embossing technique on the green background and a ragged edge die to create the panel.  I thought this cute little sentiment was perfect for my peeking critter.  

Supplies:

Cottage Cutz - Ho Ho Friends die set

Hero Arts - Irreverent Elf Messages stamp set

Penny Black - Antique Frames die set

Hero Arts - background stamp

I invite you to visit our blog for more post holiday reindeer inspiration and hope to see your creation in our gallery! 

JUGS #661 - January Guest Designer

 

I was thrilled to be invited as the January Guest Designer for the Just Us Girls challenge blog.  As a member of several Design Teams myself it's often difficult to fit in the time to play along with other challenges but this is one of my top go-tos when my time does allow.  Love these ladies and their challenges!

This week's prompt is a color challenge.  I'm sure you can probably guess it from my card below...

I die cut my images from white cardstock and then blended the bird and flowers with Distress Oxides.  I decided on their position on my kraft panel and then stamped the sentiment in a crisp black pigment ink.  The panel was then adhered to a heavy weight white card base.  I wanted to keep this encouragment card simple so I resisted the urge to add clear droplets.  

Supplies:

Cottage Cutz - Bluebird die set

Reverse Confetti - Sentimental Sayings stamp set

I invite you to visit this week's blog post and hope you'll join in on the fun.  Thanks so much to the JUGS team for the invite!  I'll be back next week with another Guest DT post.  

As always, thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with me!

Jules

A Very Special Color Hues #55

The year 2022 brought many personal losses so I'm not sad to see it in my rearview window.  I do have high hopes for 2023 so I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! 

To begin this brand new year on a positive note, I am now a member of the Color Hues Design Team.  I LOVE this challenge and have played along frequently so to be able to be on the team makes me very happy.  Today I bring you my first DT card.  Can you guess the color duo?

I ask you....how could I NOT make a flamingo?  :-)

I began by die cutting my spirit animal in pink cardstock.  I lightly edged the flamingo with ink while also making the wing just a tad darker in shade.  I used two dies to create the arch and an embossing folder to create the texture.  The gold peeking from behind is a matte gold cardstock which I also used in the sentiment banner which was heat embossed in white.  Overall it's a very simple card because I think the sentiment says it all. 

Supplies:

MFT - Flamingo die

Simon Says Stamp - Lumen embossing folder

Simon Says Stamp - Simply Thank You stamp set

Pinkfresh Studio - Braided Tag die set

I'm excited for the crafty year ahead and invite you to join us over at the blog.  I hope to see your card in our gallery!

As always, thanks so much for spending a bit of your day with me!

Jules